Tax Fraud

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TAX FRAUD - PAGE 3

A Wilmette man has been indicted in a tax fraud scheme that officials say resulted in a $100 million loss to the U.S. Treasury Department, authorities in New York said today. John Ohle, a former member of the tax shelter promotion group at a national bank, was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States by providing estate and planning tax shelter strategies that created false losses for wealthy clients to claim on their taxes, according to the Internal Revenue Service and other authorities.

Christopher Kelly, a former adviser and chief fundraiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was sentenced to 37 months in prison today on federal tax fraud charges for concealing his use of corporate funds to cover gambling debts. Kelly had faced up to 4 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to the charges in January, admitting he underreported his roofing company's profits by nearly $500,000 from 2001 through 2005. Christopher Kelly leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse today following his sentencing on federal tax fraud charges for concealing his use of corporate funds to cover gambling debts.

Christopher Kelly (left) leaves the Dirksen Federal Building after pleading guilty in a federal corruption case. At right is Kelly's attorney, Michael Monico. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune) Christopher Kelly, the former confidant and a top fundraiser for ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, pleaded guilty this afternoon to two counts of mail fraud as part of a kickback scheme to fraudulently obtain $8.5 million in work at O'Hare International Airport. Kelly, who owned a roofing company, was scheduled to go on trial on Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.

A federal judge is allowing Casey Szaflarski, accused of running a video gambling business linked to the Chicago Outfit, to attend his daughter's wedding this summer. But Szaflarski is not allowed to talk to the father of the groom. That's because the lucky guy's father is Frank "Toots" Caruso, a reputed leader of the mob's 26th Street street crew.Szaflarski's daughter is planning to marry Frank Caruso Jr., who was convicted in the 1998 racially motivated beating of Lenard Clark.

Former Niles Mayor Nicholas Blase (center) leaving the courthouse. (Chicago Tribune/Antonio Perez) Nicholas Blase, who led the village of Niles as mayor for almost half a century, was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in prison for profiting from a kickback scheme in which he steered businesses in the town to a friend's insurance company. Blase, 81, who resigned in 2008 before pleading guilty to federal mail- and tax-fraud charges, acknowledged that he had let down the citizens of Niles.

A former Chicago city employee was found guilty Friday of scheming with former Alderman Arenda Troutman to squeeze developers for payoffs and campaign money as well as lying to federal agents. The federal jury convicted Steven Boone, 37, of mail fraud and making false statements to the FBI. He was acquitted of two other charges of taking bribes from a developer who wanted zoning changes and other favors. Boone took the witness stand in his own defense and denied taking bribes.

Convicted former Niles Mayor Nicholas Blase, 82 and now living in a halfway house in Chicago, could soon qualify for home confinement because of his age after serving time in a Minnesota federal prison. Federal Bureau of Prisons officials confirmed Blase left the federal penitentiary in Duluth on Dec. 23. Blase, mayor of the north suburban village for nearly 50 years, was sentenced in January 2010 to one year and one day in prison for his conviction in a kickback scheme that involved him steering local businesses to a friend’s insurance company.

Acknowledging that lax oversight allowed former Executive Director Phil Pagano to abuse his authority and award himself $475,000 in vacation pay, Metra officials and others agreed Wednesday that the agency needs an inspector general. But there is disagreement over who should appoint such a watchdog to ensure that the post can independently investigate in-house corruption. Metra board members should not make the appointment, state Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, said at a legislative hearing looking into the causes and effects of the Pagano scandal.

As two of the longest-serving University of Illinois trustees appeared Tuesday before a state panel investigating clout in admissions, the questioning quickly focused on Gov. Rod Blagojevich's behind-the-scenes influence. One board member remembered specific phone calls and a request for favors. The other recalled little -- even as he looked at internal e-mails that painted him as the intermediary between the governor's office and the state's flagship university. University of Illinois trustee Lawrence Eppley testifies today before a commission investigating admissions practices at the school.

Former Ald. Arenda Troutman leaves the Dirksen Federal Building after her sentencing. (Chicago Tribune/Michael Tercha) Former Ald. Arenda Troutman was sentenced to four years in prison today for mail and tax fraud. Troutman admitted that for several years she had solicited cash from developers to back their projects in her South Side ward.The sentence was handed down after Troutman tearfully told the judge that she's not "a monster" as portrayed by prosecutors who said she accepted bribes and fraternized with gang members.